MEDIA CONTACT:

Angela Petro: Angela.Petro@americanbar.orgor 202-662-1582

WASHINGTON (February 8, 2016) – On February 9, 2016, the Energy Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice will hold a teleconference on the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent FERC v. Electric Power Supply Association(EPSA) decision. Panelists Joel Eisen, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, and Ashley Parrish, Partner at King & Spalding, will discuss how the Court’s ruling will impact state and federal regulations and what it reveals about the Court’s understanding of broader doctrines of administrative law and federalism. Robert Nordhaus, a Partner at Van Ness Feldman LLP, will moderate the discussion. The program is co-sponsored by the Energy Marketing and Finance Committee of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and the ABA Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Section and its Electricity Committee.

On January 25, 2016, a majority of the Court held in FERC v. EPSA that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may set prices for “demand response,” or commitments to reduce electricity usage in exchange for compensation. Jane Luxton, co-chair of the Adlaw Energy Committee, said the case represents “one of the most important electricity decisions in more than a decade,” and that the program has “generated strong interest in its expected discussion of implications of the ruling” for other pending regulatory challenges and future FERC rulemaking. Ashley Parrish argued the case on behalf of EPSA before the D.C. Circuit. Joel Eisen co-authored a Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of energy law scholars in support of FERC’s position.

Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice

As the home for lawyers who work for, interact with, or study government entities, the Section seeks to enhance their professional development, and further the vital public interest in effective, efficient, and fair administration at all levels of government. It serves these goals through education, dialogue, publications, and proposals for reform. It is our mission to (1) be the leader in providing professional development opportunities for current and future administrative law practitioners; (2) lend our legal expertise to the resolution of important administrative law issues at the state, national and international levels; (3) provide authoritative and practical analyses and products for the improvement of administrative law and practice; and (4) provide settings in which government, private, and academic lawyers, and the judiciary can exchange insights and information .